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Smurf (language)
See the article Smurf (language) at Smurfs Wiki. The '''Smurf' language is basically a variation of a human language where the word "smurf" is substituted for whatever noun, verb, adjective, or adverb is being used. It is a rather intuitive form of communication, since only Smurfs seem to know without any sense of confusion what one Smurf is really saying to another Smurf in Smurf. It mostly depends on what context the word "smurf" is being used in since it can hold any number of meanings, including sometimes profanity, as in the case of Patrick Winslow in the 2011 Smurfs movie. Occasionally, though, debates do break out in the manner of the word "smurf" being used in compounded words and phrases, as one Smurf might say "corksmurf" and another Smurf might say "smurfscrew", though both are correct forms of the word. This verbal debate led to the events that took place in the comic book story "Smurf Versus Smurf" and the cartoon special "The Smurfic Games". In the events that took place in "The Smurfs And The Magic Flute", Peewit attempted to ask for a glass of water in Smurf to a fellow Smurf, only to get other things instead. Brainy tries to explain, "to speak in Smurf, the verb and noun must both agree, and adjectives make the meaning vary" -- though as usual he gets bludgeoned over the head. Peewit also mistranslated a message that was spoken by another Smurf in Smurf, which required Papa Smurf to provide the correct translation. In "The Fake Smurf", when Hogatha was masquerading as Snorty Smurf, she was confused when Vanity tried to tell her something in Smurf. Empath: The Luckiest Smurf series Not all Smurfs speak in Smurf. Empath, of all Smurfs in the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf story series, speaks mostly in the language of Psychelian. At first he had trouble understanding Smurf, but eventually he came to understand perfectly what the other Smurfs say in Smurf. Unfortunately, Empath is unable to fluently speak in Smurf except in rare cases when he gets very angry or very scared, and his attempts to do so in other situations usually results in constant misinterpretation, so Empath sticks to speaking in Psychelian. However, though Empath is capable of reading in both Smurf and Psychelian, the other Smurfs are unable to understand anything Empath writes in Psychelian, so he has to translate it into Smurf text. While Empath personally feels that he is less of a true Smurf for not being able to speak in Smurf, Papa Smurf lets him know that his inability to do so doesn't make him any less of a Smurf because his true Smurfness lies within his own heart. During Empath's honeymoon, he finally achieved the ability to fluently speak in Smurf without needing to experience an extreme emotion, suggesting that Empath would never truly be complete as a Smurf without Smurfette. However, his newfound ability to speak fluently in Smurf now required him to relearn how to speak in Psychelian, as all his thought patterns were now in Smurf language, and besides that most of his fellow Smurfs found it rather strange to hear Empath speaking in Smurf after all the years they heard him speak in Psychelian. Also to note that in the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf story series, Smurf was only one of the languages that the Smurfs spoke in previous generations; the other languages also include Schtroumpf, Schlumpf, Pitufo, Puffo, and Smurfentaal. (In respective order, they are the Smurf culture equivalents of French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch.) It was through the creation of the Smurf head logo which became part of the written language of the Smurfs that Smurf became the dominant language of the people, with only Painter, whose family was a member of the Schtroumpf clan, insisting on speaking in Schtroumpf rather than Smurf on occasion. Schtroumpf is also used in the recording of Smurf names in official registers: Empath is recorded as Schtroumpf Empathie, for example. Wild Smurf, when he was first discovered, could only communicate with hand signals and animal chatter. It was through Empath's efforts that Wild began to speak in Smurf, although rather primitively at first, which surprised Empath, as he himself at the time was unable to effectively communicate in Smurf. Some common expressions used: * Smurfy -- when used in a positive manner, it can mean happy, merry, or something that is totally agreeable with the ways of a Smurf; when used negatively, it can mean crazy, silly, or foolish. * Unsmurfy -- used to mean bad or something that is totally disagreeable with the ways of a Smurf. * Smurfy idea -- same as "good idea". * Isn't that smurfy -- same as "isn't that great"; it can be used either positively or negatively. * That's just smurfy -- same as "that's just great"; usually used in a manner describing disgust or disappointment. * Great Smurfness -- same as "great goodness"; used to indicate shock or surprise. * In the name of Smurf/a Smurf -- same as "in the name of God". Painter uses the Schtroumpf variant at times, "nom d'un Schtroumpf". * Sweet mother of Smurf -- same as "sweet mother of God"; usually used by Farmer Smurf. * Great Smurfs of Fire -- same as "great balls of fire"; usually used by Papa Smurf. * No smurfing way -- same as "no (expletive deleted) way"; usually used to emphasize great disbelief or a great refusal. * Smurfin' Begora -- same as "faith and begorrah"; usually used by Miner Smurf. * Smurf o' the morning -- same as "top o' the morning"; usually used by Tapper Smurf as a morning greeting. * Great Smurfiny Crickets -- a common expression of Tapper Smurf used to indicate shock or surprise. * Smurfabunga -- same as "cowabunga"; usually used by the Smurflings. Real-world origin The original term and the accompanying language came during a meal Peyo was having with his colleague and friend André Franquin in which, having momentarily forgotten the word "salt", Peyo asked him (in French) to pass the schtroumpf. Franquin replied: "Here's the Schtroumpf — when you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back" and the two spent the rest of that weekend speaking in schtroumpf language. The name was later translated into Dutch as Smurf, which was adopted in English. This origin appears in veiled form in the original French version of "The Smurfs And The Book That Tells Everything" and also in "The Great Book Of Answers". The language problem in "Smurf Versus Smurf" and "The Smurfic Games" cartoon special is based on the real-world language problem between the French and Dutch speakers in Peyo's home country of Belgium. The Dutch speakers mostly live in the northern part of the country, while the French speakers mostly live in the southern part Category:Smurf customs